


Good Cop, Bad Cop

by Remisfriend26



Category: Blue Bloods (TV)
Genre: Discipline, Family, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 02:52:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12333993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remisfriend26/pseuds/Remisfriend26
Summary: It's been a few months since Linda's accident (spoilers for Season 8 premier) and Danny finds out Jack's been hiding some trouble at school from him. He isn't pleased about the deception.





	Good Cop, Bad Cop

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Spoilers for Season 8 premier and a character death.
> 
> This is a solo work, I had the idea today while doing work for Uni had to write it so sorry for any mistakes -- I didn't proof read it! Anyway, it's a gift for Sprite to remind her she's awesome. <3 Enjoy! Hopefully Jack and Sean are in character cause I've never written them before...

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he heard a door upstairs slam with force. It had been five months since Linda had died during a patient evac and Danny was finally starting to find his feet again. It had been an uphill battle but thankfully he and the boys had found a way to lean on each other as they navigated this new season in their life. 

At first, the boys had been great, but recently they’d started to test their boundaries now that Linda wasn’t there to play mediator. Danny had always been the bad cop parent when he had Linda there to play good cop, or vice versa, but now he was learning to play good cop and bad cop at the same time. His respect for his wife’s parenting skills had skyrocketed in the past few months.

He counted to ten in his head as he carried the dinner plates through to the kitchen then returned to the table to where Sean was sat looking a little awkward. “You done your homework yet?”

Sean shrugged. 

Danny raised his eyebrows. “Did that become an acceptable answer in this house without me knowing it, kid?”

“No, Dad… And, uh, I guess not…”

“Then you got an hour to get it done or I’m taking the PlayStation controls until the weekend. We’ve already talked about homework coming first in this house. Capiche?” Danny asked bluntly.

Sean blushed, nodding. “Got it.”

“Good, now scram. You can work here if you want cause I gotta go up and talk to your knucklehead brother and that could be messy…” Danny told him, reaching out to tousle his hair before clearing the rest of the table and wiping it down with a cloth. 

It was Jack’s turn to clear up, owing to the fact Danny had discovered over dinner that he’d received a lunchtime detention today, thanks to Sean and his ability to always drop his brother in the deep end. Of course, he’d then learned it was third time in as many weeks and Danny had no idea how Jack had slipped that one under the radar without a letter or phone call home. When he’d asked Jack to clean up, the teen had insisted they had a dishwasher for a reason and stormed up to his room abruptly. And now Danny found himself standing in the kitchen and wondering how the hell to handle it. Sure, he knew what his dad would have done if it were him, but the detective was trying to be understanding and channel Linda in his parenting given all the turmoil the boys had been through this year.

He sighed and dried his hands, looking around at all the stacked plates, pots and dishes in the kitchen, then went upstairs, praying --not for the first time in recent months-- for divine inspiration and a lot more patience than he currently felt. He stood outside Jack’s door for a moment, listening to the rap music that had started to blast loud enough to make the walls shake, and knocked loudly. 

“Jack?” he called. “Jack Reagan! I’m coming in.” The loud thump of bass greeted the statement and he cursed to himself before stepping inside. 

He grimaced at the state of the room. Linda had never let the boys leave crap all over their rooms like this. Jack ignored him, texting on his phone and doodling in a notebook on his bed simultaneously. Danny waited a moment in disbelief before heading to the speaker on Jack’s desk housing his ipod and switched the music off. 

“What the hell? I was listening to that!” Jack snapped, voice full of teenaged contempt. 

“And I told you I was coming in. What’s with all the crap everywhere? Your room wasn’t in this state a couple days ago.” Danny commented mildly. 

“Yeah well, maybe I didn’t feel like sorting it today.”

“Well I think you might wanna feel like fixing it sooner versus later. You’ve been raised better than to treat this place like a barn. You wanna tell me what that was all about downstairs?” Danny asked pointedly, pulling out Jack’s desk chair to sit down in and hopefully appear less confrontational.

“What do you care?” Jack asked sullenly. 

Danny frowned. “I don’t like this attitude of yours, Jack. Come on, _talk_ to me. Is something going on at school?”

“Yeah. My teachers are fucking idiots, that’s what’s going on…”

“Jack!” Danny reprimanded sharply. 

“Oh whatever. Like you never said that growing up…” Jack shot back with an attitude filled eye roll.

“Sure I did, and your Grandad made sure I learned my lesson about that. You might not like them, but you will show them some respect. And actually, why the hell didn’t I get informed about these little trips to detention, huh?”

That caused colour to drain from Jack’s face. “I dunno…” He brushed off weakly, trying to end the conversation. “I got homework to do…”

“Oh no, I don’t think so. Sit your ass up and look at me. Now, Jack,” Danny ordered sternly. “We’ll talk about why you and Sean think it’s okay to skip homework later on. Why didn’t the school contact me?” 

Silence stretched out between them as Jack tried to figure out what to say. Eventually he spoke quietly, playing with his phone distractedly. “I might have told them your number had changed and given them mine instead so that the texts come to my phone…” He admitted nervously. 

“Oh yeah? Gimme that…” Danny ordered sharply, standing to snatch Jack’s phone out of his hands. “You can get this back when you prove you’re responsible enough to have it. How many other notes from the school have you kept from me? And does your brother know about all this?”

“Dad… This is nothing to do with Sean…” Jack protested weakly. “And I need that! That’s how Pop gets hold of us…” 

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll speak to Pop. And how long has Sean been in on this?” Danny asked, unphased. “You got ten seconds to tell me the truth or you’ll be grounded until Christmas…”

Jack’s jaw dropped. It was only just coming up to Halloween. That was like seven weeks! “Dad… I… Uh…” Jack groaned. “I may have failed a couple of tests recently…”

“I see.” Danny counted to ten in his head, forcing himself to calm down. “You’re grounded for two weeks. If you can give me one good reason not to haul you over my knee then I won’t, but if not you can go and fetch your Mom’s hairbrush for me.”

“Dad, come _on…_ That’s too much!” Jack argued angrily.

“Yeah?” Danny shrugged. “Okay, so lying to me, lying to your teachers, disobeying me and being downright disrespectful are all okay in this family. Right?” 

“I didn’t say that… But you already grounded me and took my phone! Gramps would never be such a jerk…”

“You kidding me? Your Grandpa would tell me I’m being lenient. Now quit being a wise ass and answer my question or do what you’ve been told. Last chance before I get mad.”

“You’re already mad…”

“Not as mad as I’m about to be. And actually Jack, I’m not mad yet, I’m disappointed. I expect a helluva lot better than you and I know your Mom does too. You think she’s watching over you _happy_ about your behaviour recently? Cause I don’t. You screwed up.” Danny told his eldest honestly. 

That had Jack swallowing back guilty tears. 

Danny sighed. “You got a good reason for me?”

Jack gave a small shake of his head. “Go on then. Don’t make me get it cause you’ll be sorry if I do.”

Danny waited for Jack to drag his feet out of the room and down the hall to his parents’ bedroom and let out a heavy sigh, dragging a hand over his stubble. God, parenting was hard. He knew the brush would make it seem even worse, but he hoped it would also help Jack to feel closer to his Mom.

When Jack stepped into the room, Danny had already moved to sit on his bed, moving his book to the bedside table. “Thanks, kid. Alright, you know the drill…” Danny prompted, waiting for Jack to unfasten his pants and drag them down his narrow hips before hauling him over his knee. He gave him a couple of moments to settle before reaching under him to slide his boxers down to mid-thigh. “You understand why this is happening?” 

Jack nodded. “Yeah.”

“Alright. Hold still…” Danny warned, setting the brush aside and tucking Jack against his abs before bringing his right palm down sharply. Jack flinched over his knee but didn’t move. Danny landed another warning swat before starting to spank his eldest soundly. He didn’t speak as he spanked, figuring Jack knew exactly what he’d done wrong. The room was silent other than the sound of hand spanking backside until started to make small sounds of discomfort. 

Danny didn’t go as hard on the teen as he normally might have, aware that Jack was acting out because he missed Linda and not wanting to be too harsh. He waited until Jack was sniffing before picking up the brush. “This is because I want you to remember that you Mom is so proud of you, kid. I expect better from you and she would too. I know it’s hard now she’s not here beside us, but I really do believe she’s keeping an eye on you and that she’s so proud of the man you’re becoming. I want you to think about that for the next few minutes and why your behaviour recently has sucked so much.”

With that, Danny brought the brush down firmly, mostly focusing on his son’s sit spots and the very tops of his thighs so he’d remember this for the next twenty four hours. He spanked soundly until Jack’s sit spots were red and his son was crying before stopping and putting the brush aside. When he’d moved the brush, he reached down to fix his clothes before rubbing the teens back while he waited for him to calm down. “You ready to come up for a hug?” he asked gently when Jack seemed calmer.

Jack nodded, letting Danny help him up before turning to push himself into the older Reagan’s arms. Danny caught him and wrapped him up tight in his arms, kissing the side of his head. “Alright, kid. I got you. You’re okay. We’re okay now, I’m not mad. Shh… I know kiddo, I miss her too. Every single day…” Danny soothed, guessing he knew exactly what had triggered this episode of behaviour.

Jack’s weeping settled a little at that and Danny knew he’d said the right thing. It took a while but eventually the seventeen year old pulled back and gave his dad a sheepish smile. “I’m really sorry, Dad…”

Danny smiled, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. “I know. We’re good. I spent half my school life in that position, don’t worry about it. But kid?”

“Yeah?” Jack asked, wiping at his eyes. 

“You’re still on wash up duty tonight. And I expect that homework to be done before you go to bed. I’m gonna check it…” Danny warned the boy. “I love you so much, buddy. You know that, right?”

Jack nodded, smiling. “I know. Even when I’m a jerk?”

“Even when you wander off the straight and narrow. That’s what I’m here for, to haul you back from the edge. Why don’t you go wash your face and calm down while I speak to your brother quickly?” Danny asked affectionately, standing and pulling Jack into another strong hug.

“Uh…” Jack swallowed guiltily. “Sure…”

“Relax. I’m not about to go all Rambo on his butt… I just want to talk to him. A hot shower helps, soothes the muscles… The plates can wait a bit longer. Put your Mom’s brush back on your way?”

Jack nodded with a grateful smile. “Got it. Thanks, Dad.”

Danny ruffled his hair again before returning downstairs. “How’s it going?” he asked Sean, hoping the homework was nearly finished so he could take a turn as good cop this time.

“Uh…” Sean looked up sheepishly. 

“Tell me you’re not watching crap on YouTube…” Danny practically pleaded, wondering why the hell he’d agreed to get an iPad for the boys to use for homework and studying. 

“Not exactly?” Sean countered hopefully.

“Uh-huh. What are you doing then?” Danny asked with more patience than he felt. 

“I did go online to find a tutorial Dad, I swear!”

“Mhm, and that thing just magically popped up?” Danny asked cynically, eyeing the Rick and Morty cartoon in confusion. He didn’t understand why anyone would want to watch this stuff. 

Sean looked away guiltily. 

“That’s what I thought. How much you got to do?”

“Just Biology. I finished math and chemistry.” Sean promised sincerely.

“You’re lucky you’ve been productive or I’d be pretty pissed. Look, kid, we need to talk…” Danny told him, sitting down at the table beside him.

Sean looked over curiously.

“How long have you know about Jack being in trouble at school?” The father of two asked patiently.

“Uh… Dad…” Sean groaned. “I told him he should just tell you about it…”

“How long, Sean?” 

“Uh… about a month? Sean admitted awkwardly.

Danny frowned. “Right. You didn’t think to maybe mention it to me?” 

“I did…” Sean shrugged. “But I figured you had enough going on with everything that happened in the summer… It didn’t seem like that big a deal.”

“Yeah?” Danny asked in surprise, waiting for a nod of confirmation from Sean. “That’s not your decision to make, kid. I appreciate you wanting to make things easier on me but lying to me, lying to Grandad and Pop… That’s not okay. Jack could’ve ended up in serious trouble at school if I didn’t find out about this tonight. Your Mom would have been really upset to find out you boys have been lying so easily this month.” Danny scolded quietly, meeting Sean’s eyes sternly. “Like I already told Jack, I really believe she’s watching over us and I really think she’d be pretty unhappy with the way you boys have behaved. No more lies, okay?”

“Yeah, Dad. I got it…” Sean agreed, looking subdued.

“Alright. And Sean?” Danny prompted gently, waiting for him to look up. “Your Mom would be so proud of you boys. I am so proud of you boys. You’ve handled all of this change so well and it means the world to me. I couldn’t do this without you boys.”

Sean smiled. “You’ve been pretty great, Dad. I’m glad you’re our Dad, I couldn’t have had a better guy to raise me if I tried…” the teen admitted in a rare display of emotion. “I’m sorry I’ve been lying about school.”

“Alright, I believe you. You’re grounded for two weeks, but other than we’re good. And just so you know, I’m gonna be checking your homework’s done every night for those two weeks. I think I’ve been a little lax on that front. And if I gotta work late then I’ll ask Pop or Grandad or Aunt Erin or Uncle Jamie to do it. You hear me?”

“Yessir… I’ll be good.” Sean agreed sincerely.

“Alright, that’s my boy. Now, how about you finish your work and then maybe we could watch a movie or something when Jack’s finished his work?”

“Yeah! Awesome!” 

Danny chuckled at his youngest’s enthusiasm, nodding. “Alright. Finish up and I’ll let Jack know when he comes down to do the dishes. I’m gonna do a bit of work while I’m waiting but shout me if you need a hand…” Danny said, reaching over to give Sean a fierce hug before standing up and heading to the lounge to get some case files out his brief case. The shower was still running upstairs so he knew Jack wouldn’t be ready for a while and he knew this way he could monitor Sean subtly. He sat down with a sigh, rubbing at his temple tiredly. Being a single parent wasn't getting any easier, but despite all the hurdles they were facing, he was so proud of the way the boys had pulled together to get through this as a team and he knew they’d come out of this in one piece.

The End


End file.
